It may be just a one-person operation still in the fledgling stage, but a Colorado Springs startup got a big push from the state last week when it became the first enterprise from the Pikes Peak region to win an advanced-industries grant under a 2-year-old economic development program.

In a Wednesday address in front of hundreds of members of the Colorado Springs Regional Business Alliance , Hickenlooper made it clear that Colorado Springs - which has been rapidly losing high-tech jobs with millennial appeal - will be part of that plan.

Across the country, changes in unemployment rates varied from state to state in 2014, but collectively the numbers pointed to a year of substantial improvement: Jobless rates fell in 46 states, and every one except Mississippi added jobs.

Even Louisiana's gain masked some good news: The state added a healthy number of jobs — just not enough to keep up with population growth.

Participants at the Global Game Jam don't play games, they create them.

Up to 50 people from the Pikes Peak region will be doing their part later this week as the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs hosts one of the 489 events worldwide for the seventh annual game creation extravaganza,

The growing menu of events for startup companies will get even longer next week with Startup Shuffle, an occasional networking session designed to bring first-time entrepreneurs together with those who have grown their startups into mid-sized companies.

On the surface, the numbers are encouraging: The Colorado Springs area's unemployment rate declined by nearly a third, from 7.8 percent in October 2013 to 5.4 percent in October of this year.

But dig a little deeper, and a bleaker picture emerges. Nearly half of the drop in the jobless rate resulted from more than 3,500 area residents leaving the local labor force. The cause is unclear, since there's no up-to-the-minute Census data that might help explain it.

Stan VanderWerf believes three-dimensional printing will change the way inventors get products ready for market, and he aims to use his expertise and 3-D equipment to help them avoid the delays and costs of getting prototypes manufactured.

Stan VanderWerf believes three-dimensional printing will change the way inventors get products ready for market, and he aims to use his expertise and 3-D equipment to help them avoid the delays and costs of getting prototypes manufactured.

Castle Rock - The buzzing noise coming from Santa's sleigh as it flies over Colorado this week won't be the reindeer kicking into high gear. It will be from drones that Santa will deliver to good children and adults this year.

Since the state's first store specializing in hobbyist and commercial drone technology opened Nov. 1 in Castle Rock, the gadgets have been flying out the door at a steady clip. Many will land under the tree.

Hard work, the ability to learn from his mistakes and sheer gumption led one of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs' most notable graduates to become one of Bill Gates' right-hand employees at Microsoft.

NEW YORK (AP) — Fourteen cities ranging from Long Beach, California, to Jerusalem are getting money from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's foundation to create "innovation teams" to jump-start new approaches to poverty, public safety, job growth and other issues.

New York-based Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the winners Monday. They'll receive from $400,000 to $1 million annually for three years.

When you think of tech startups, you probably think Northern California. Companies there receive the largest share of funding from venture capitalists, but there are several other notable pockets around the country.

In the first nine months of the year, venture capitalists poured $24 billion into tech startups around the country. About half of that funding went to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, according to the National Venture Capital Association.

Michelle Vandepas, a Colorado Springs-based marketing consultant to entrepreneurs, told more than 300 people attending the first TEDx conference in Colorado Springs on Saturday to slow down their lives to allow for "creative ripening."

Personal computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. reportedly plans to split itself into two separate companies by spinning off its technology services business.

The Wall Street Journal reported the pending split Sunday citing people familiar with the matter, who said the company announcement could come as soon as Monday. A spokeswoman for HP declined to comment.

The company, which creates and provides software for insurance and financial service firms, announced this week that it has experienced a 30 percent increase in life and annuity customers in the past year, so it is expanding its office space by about one-third and adding employees.

With dreams of becoming a force as prominent as Google or Microsoft, Colorado Springs-based Cherwell Software is seeking a location for a campus that could accommodate 1,000 or more employees to handle its rapid growth.

Entrepreneurs Julian Flores of GetOutfitted and Lexi Raney and Leslie Robertson of Blackberry Maverick both used the inaugural 1 Million Cups business plan pitch event Wednesday to rehearse for the day when the stakes will be a lot higher.

Denver has one. So do the booming northern Colorado towns of Fort Collins and Boulder.

Now, it's Colorado Springs' turn to experience Startup Week, a six-day series of events designed to raise awareness about and celebrate the accomplishments of entrepreneurs - and perhaps inspire others to start new companies.

More than 4,000 people are expected to attend the nearly 30 events during Colorado Springs' inaugural event, which comes the week after Denver's.